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Obama’s flawed claim about Romney and Arizona’s immigration law

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clashed over immigration, among other subjects, in the second presidential debate. President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clashed over immigration, among other subjects, in the second presidential debate.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney clashed over immigration, among other subjects, in the second presidential debate.

By W. Gardner Selby October 17, 2012

President Barack Obama revived a flawed claim during the presidential debate this week when he charged Republican Mitt Romney with wholly embracing Arizona’s 2010 immigration law.

At the Oct. 16, 2012, debate, Obama said Romney "called the Arizona law a model for the nation."
   
Soon after Obama made that claim, Romney fired back: "I did not say that the Arizona law was a model for the nation in that aspect. I said that the E-Verify portion of the Arizona law, which is the portion of the law which says that employers could be able to determine whether someone is here illegally or not illegally, that that was a model for the nation."

Romney basically recapped his original "model" reference correctly, though it’s fair to say too that he has spoken favorably of states enacting measures addressing what lawmakers identify as failures of the federal government to enforce significant laws.

See two previous PolitiFact Texas analyses of such claims--including one that was made by Obama in San Antonio earlier this year--to the right or click to the latest check, post-debate, by PolitiFact in Washington.

PolitiFact bestowed ratings of False each time.

We’ve no idea if we’ll hear this claim again--not taking bets.

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Obama’s flawed claim about Romney and Arizona’s immigration law